And only one institution made that possible – the illegal bars that respectable society never discussed.īefore prohibition – women already faced a “prohibition” from public drinking in the form of bans from saloons and bars.īut with the dawn of the speakeasy, illegal bars began recruiting female customers by including powder rooms. The 1920s is known as a time when women and men both began to challenge the norms of their gender and sexuality. Impact on Societyįew illegal institutions have had the impact and creation of a counterculture that speakeasy bars did – and their impact reaches beyond modern-day speakeasies and our alcohol consumption practices. And thus, with the speakeasy fading as an institution, the heyday of classic cocktails went with it.

People could now order alcoholic beverages at restaurants without a problem or make them at home. With the re-entry of alcohol into public life, prohibition speakeasies no longer had a purpose. In 1933, the 21st amendment ended prohibition. Seeing prohibition had inadvertently given the mob power, the government started considering repealing the 18th amendment and instead regulating the sale and serving of alcohol themselves. With the election of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, however, the government began to take a more practical approach.

With the stock market crash came an increase in attendance at speakeasies as people sought to distract themselves from the harsh reality of life. Though it was an official amendment in the United States Constitution, the economic depression and global tension of the 1930s already began to spell the prohibition era’s end. Though mobsters ran the alcohol trade, speakeasies became popular with ordinary citizens – many of whom had returned from World War I and wanted to enjoy live music, dancing, and other such chances for fun. These illegal drinking establishments hid in basements, back rooms, and attics in hundreds of thousands of locations across the United States.

Though the term existed before – due to the existence of “speak softly shops” in the British Isles, the term “speakeasy” came into common use for the aforementioned reasons. Prohibition Eraįrom 1920 to 1933, the American government had the 18th amendment in place, which banned the sale and serving of alcohol.īut without a proper structure to enforce such a ban, organized crime almost immediately took over the sale and distribution of alcohol.įor these 13 years, mobsters smuggled in or illegally produced alcohol for restaurants and clubs that once served alcoholic beverages.Īnd so, the speakeasy spread across the United States. To understand the speakeasy and its enduring popularity as a term and pseudo-institution (in the form of modern speakeasies) today, one has to understand the history of the Prohibition era itself and the forces that produced the speakeasy. The name comes from the means of entry into these illegal drinking establishments: you had to say the code to the place quietly so that others would not find out about it and the cops would not come crashing down on the location. While many underground bars claim the legacy and appearance of these famous bars, they are not technically speakeasies because of the actual nature of the term “speakeasy.” If you break the word apart, you see two words: speak and easy. These places ran the gamut from secret music venues to hidden casinos. They were often underground, in a restaurant’s backroom, or hidden in other ways. What Is a Speakeasy?Ī speakeasy, also known as a “blind pig” or “blind tiger,” is one of the illegal, secret alcohol-serving institutions of the 1920s. In the words to follow – you’ll find out what a speakeasy is and the impact it had on American society and bar culture today. If you have wondered “what is a speakeasy” and what went on at these illegal bars, then keep reading. In this article, we will explore this institution, its appearance in American culture, and its legacy in the world of bars and clubs today. The prohibition era produced a famous American touchstone, an institution that lives on legally these days: the speakeasy. If you have ever taken a history course focusing on the American 20th century, you may have encountered a bizarre period: the prohibition era.

Speek easy